


Baby, this is your kingdom

by iamsithprincess



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Genre: Emperor Kylo Ren, Empress Rey, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-03-13 05:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13563504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamsithprincess/pseuds/iamsithprincess
Summary: “Please,” he begged. As the Supremacy fired another round of shots at the transports heading towards Crait, Rey made her choice.“Alright.” Her tone was low but it was enough for Ben to hear her response. The young girl placed her hand atop of his, steading the tremble, keeping her eyes on him. As their hands joined, both of them felt enormous energy flow through their bodies. Rey recognized it from her stay on Ahch-to. It was the balance. It was the light and darkness, equal in their strength finding peace within each other.The Last Jedi AU where Rey accepts Ben´s offer. TLj spoilers (duh).





	1. 1 - The beginning

“Order them to stop firing! There´s still time to save the fleet!” her pleading voice echoed through the throne room, full of hopelessness and urgency, desperate to save her friends. Rey waited for what Ben would do – whether he would agree or let the First Order wipe out the Resistance once and for all. She expected to see him – do something. Instead, he just stood there staring at the lifeless corpse of the former Supreme Leader.

“Ben?” she asked, tears starting to fall down her face. It wasn´t just her sadness that caused it. She felt the bond between them throb with emotions, twisting her heart – all these feelings were his, not hers. Rey stepped closer, not sure what he would do now.

“If I do it, will you join me?” he spoke suddenly, his eyes never leaving Snoke´s body.

“Join you?” Rey gasped. This was something she wasn´t prepared to hear.

“We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy! We can end this war, end the suffering of the thousands of innocent worlds.” His eyes finally met hers. They were burning with passion, desire to find the belonging he so desperately craved. Rey knew the feeling, the yearning for finding a place in this universe.

 She quickly weighted her pros and cons. If she´d not agree, her friends would die. Were their lives worth signing her soul to the devil though? She closed her eyes and remembered how it felt to be in Finn´s embrace, how Leia´s hands stroked her back and supplied the encouragement she needed. If saving them meant joining Ben, she would do it. Besides, it could be the vision she had when they touched hands. Maybe all of this was will of the Force. Maybe she could help Ben turn and fulfill his destiny as the galaxy´s only hope.

“Ben,” she sighed. Was she really doing this? She looked at him, standing in front of her. His lower lip quivered as he extended his hand towards her. It was trembling – was it from the intense fight that took place just moments ago or was it from fear of rejection?

“Please,” he begged. As the Supremacy fired another round of shots at the transports heading towards Crait, Rey made her choice.

“Alright.” Her tone was low but it was enough for Ben to hear her response. The young girl placed her hand atop of his, steading the tremble, keeping her eyes on him. As their hands joined, both of them felt enormous energy flow through their bodies. Rey recognized it from her stay on Ahch-to. It was the balance. It was the light and darkness, equal in their strength finding peace within each other.

Ben´s been the one who broke the hand hold – to grab his commlink and contact Hux.

A hologram appeared before them. Rey could only see the General´s back, but she knew it was for the better to not be seen in the view.

“Stop firing on the transports, General,” Ben commanded, his voice firm and steady as he spoke.

“Stop firing? Are you out of your mind, Ren? The Resistance is on those transports!” Hux was certainly not pleased with being told what to do and as Ben suspected, the General did not command to stop the attack on the enemy.

“I feel the life forms on there! Do you believe the random thief who gave you the intel or your superior?” Making sure he´d emphasize the word superior, Ben menacingly straightened up.

“Snoke believes him! Speaking of it, where is the Supreme Leader?” Both Rey´s and Ben´s faces went pale at the mention of the dead body, luckily, Hux could not see the color of their faces via the transmission.

“He went to use the bathroom, now Hux, stop firing at the transports!” To demonstrate his superiority, Ben outstretched his hand and formed an invisible grasp around the General´s throat. He pressed slightly, reducing the intake of the air.

“Do it,” he muffled and then released him, ending the call.

Silence fell upon the two warriors in the throne room, both busy with their own thoughts. Rey was still trying to come to terms with her betrayal of the Resistance whereas Ben was wondering what would happen now. He killed Snoke. If Hux knew, he´d get executed for treason.

“What do we do about him,” Rey gestured at the lifeless corpse laying below the throne. Apparently, one of her problems was the same as his.

“I don´t know,” Ben admitted, running his hand through his hair and thinking rapidly, trying to find a solution that would not endanger him or Rey as potential murderers. After moments of thinking, an idea popped up in his brain.

“Let´s blow this ship up,” he said, but immediately after his words escaped his lips he realized how bad it sounded. There was no time for that.

“Damn it!” Ben angrily said and tossed his lightsaber just to hit the ground with it for a few times before he calmed himself down and detracted the blade, clipping the hilt back to his belt.

Rey inhaled loudly as she witnessed the temper tantrum and started to walk around the room nervously. The firing had stopped but her problems were far from solved. As she looked up at the fleet, she saw the cruiser turning around to face the Supremacy. This. This was how they´d cover up the murder of the Supreme Leader.

“Ben! The cruiser! It´s turning around! If it hits this room directly, it will destroy all of the evidence!” Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke. Of course her friends would not let her down.

“That might work,” Ben nodded and extended his hand to Rey once again.

“We must leave, quickly.” This time the young girl didn´t hesitate. She grabbed the gloved hand and gently squeezed it as a sign of encouragement. Together they ran to the elevator, hand in hand, praying to the Force to let the bridge ignore the Resistance cruiser. Knowing Hux, Ben believed that the General would do anything rather than admit that he was wrong and that Kylo Ren was right. The pride of the First Order´s leader would be Ben and Rey´s salvation.

Once they were in the elevator, Ben pressed the button that would lead them to his private hangar. As the door closed, the two were left in a complete silence, the only thing that could be heard was the humming of the elevator. This was the calm before the storm. Both of them were wondering whether they´d survive and how would their lives look from now on.

“We´ll make it,” Ben said and squeezed Rey´s hand. She looked up at him and formed a small, almost invisible smile. A casual person would overlook the slight curve of her lips, but not him.

“I know,” her voice was soft. Rey glanced at the elevator´s panel. Still seven floors left. In about twenty seconds the ship would be hit and they better be safe by the time it happened.  They´d get awfully low amount of time to get away once they got in the hangar bay. Her eyes travelled back to Ben. His own gaze was fixed at her and she could feel the heat flooding her cheeks.

As the elevator´s door opened, they ran towards the nearest ship which happened to be the TIE Silencer. Not wasting their time, Ben opened the ship´s main door from afar, using the Force.

“I heard you are a good pilot, show yourself” he said, as they ran side to side to jump in.

“What?” Rey wondered whether he got his head hit in the fight with the guards. Was he going insane?

“I need to contact Hux or else it would look damn suspicious, now do it Rey!” he yelled as they one by one entered the fighter. Rey sat in the pilot seat, beginning the pre-flight sequences. Starfighters were different than freighters, but the basic controls were the same – and they reacted way much quicker. She figured that it was why they were designed – for a space battle there would be no use for a ship that takes  too long to heat up. Rey heard a few swear words from behind her back. Ben was trying to fit in and once he managed, he commed Hux.

“Fire on the cruiser, what are you waiting for?” he yelled, showing his irritation with the army´s incompetence.

“It´s empty, Ren,” the General replied.

“They are trying to save themselves by drawing our attention away!”

“Hux! I have an intel from a vey reliable source that the cruiser is not empty. Our new ally swore her life to me and said I could kill her if she´s wrong. Now fire!”

At the mention of her, cold sweat wrapped around Rey´s body, as if someone covered her with a blanket of darkness.  Did she swore his life to him? Or was it just something he told Hux to keep them safe? Did she make the right choice? Pushing these questions aside Rey focused on maneuvering the Starfighter out of the hangar, away from the collision course.

“What the-“ Hux turned his head away from the hologram of Kylo Ren. Fear filled his eyes as he realized that what was happening with the cruiser.

A tremendous blast spread throughout their surroundings, blinding them with enormous brightness.

Rey firstly saw a blank white and then everything fell into darkness as she hit her head on the side wall.

When she came to consciousness, she couldn´t see anything at first, she could just feel the warmth wrapped around her body. From time to time something underneath her neck would move to the side and then come to rest. After a few moments, the blurriness disappeared and Rey could see Ben´s face above her. He was focused, looking straight ahead of him. He himself had a few bruises, but from the first look she could see he was not seriously injured.  Rey figured out they were still in the Silencer. Ben now replaced her in the pilot seat and as his left hand made another sudden move she realized the whole time he was holding her in his lap and piloting simultaneously. The twitches underneath her neck were just his hands moving the controls when needed.

“What happened?” Rey asked. It was almost a whisper but it was enough to get Ben´s attention. He dropped his gaze to check her state and once again their eyes locked as if it was their natural way of communicating.  
“Oh, you´re awake, thanks the Force,” he said and Rey could swear that she´d seen a small smile form on his face.

“You passed out after the explosion threw the ship to the side. The Supremacy has blown up to pieces, only a low amount of shuttles and fighters got to escape. You were unconscious for about twenty minutes, I, I was scared that something more serious happened to you. Soon my Star Destroyer will arrive and pick us up, I´ll get you to a medic as soon as possible.” Rey was surprised by the concern she heard in his voice. He was not using her as a tool to take over, she now knew he truly cared about her and still too weak to express her thanks differently, she pressed her body against his, burying her head in his chest. As his hand brushed her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, she knew she´s made the right choice.

**Author´s note: I am not a native speaker and this has not been beta´d so all of the mistakes are mine (feel free to message me about them! :)) Feedback is always appreciated. Love, xoxo.**


	2. 2 - Finding hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her eyes met Ben´s and all she could see was hope. His hope to finally not be alone. Hope for the galaxy to be a better place once there were no more wars. Hope for her to help her friends by honoring their cause in the new Empire. Hope for Ben Solo to come home.

As the Ascendancy, together with five other Star Destroyers emerged from hyperspace, there was no evidence of the Supremacy ever being present in this solar system except for the huge fireball above Crait.

“This is Admiral Maxwell of the Ascendancy, I demand a status report.”

Ben was lucky that the Silencer´s transmission got through and that his fellow Admiral rushed to the rescue extremely quickly. He didn´t know how serious Rey´s wounds were and when he combined them with her exhaustion from the fight with the Praetorians and the torture from Snoke, he figured her health condition wasn´t the best and that he could lose her if she didn´t get help. That was something he would not let happen, ever.

“This is Kylo Ren. I am sending coordinates of my starfighter now, pick us up immediately,” he demanded, surprised how easily the pronoun us escaped his lips.

“Supreme Leader Snoke?” The Admiral asked, knowing it was his duty to save the leader of the First Order first.

“He didn´t make it. Following the chain of command, it is I who is in charge, but we will deal with that later. Admiral, I need your men to extract every remaining shuttle that made it out in time,” with his final order Ben ended the transmission, focusing on maneuvering the TIE Silencer in between the wreckage.

Rey was asleep in his lap. The tingling light that was her Force signature could be compared to a blazing flame of a candle. It was small, warm and ready to ignite stars once it got stronger.

 

Rey woke up covered in silk sheets . It surprised her, because the softness was something she wasn´t used to. On Jakku, she was glad to sleep with an old rug covering her torso. On the coldest nights she often woke up trembling, hugging her knees up on her chest and warming her feet with the movements of her hands. It took her a few moments to realize where she was – it was definitely not her AT-AT. Recalling the past few days she figured she was on board of one of the Star Destroyers. It was fascinating how she woke up in such luxury quarters rather than the detention level.

 As she reached out to uncover herself she noticed that the wounds on her hands were bacta patched. Her fingertips trailed along the left side of her head where she found another healing patch which meant that the medics had already helped her and she was not dying. A series of beeps interrupted her thoughts and she noticed a black droid rolling over to the other room of the quarters.

 _“Master, Master, your girlfriend is awake!!”_ Rey frowned her eyebrows as she translated the binary into basic. Did the droid really say –girlfriend-?  True, it was a while since she needed to rely on her skills in the language of droids, especially astromechs, so it was possible she just misunderstood and translated the word differently.

“Ninee, for the last time, she is not my girlfriend,” a voice replied and even though it was almost a whisper, Rey knew who it belonged to. So her binary was still pretty good, the little droid had indeed said girlfriend, but why?

This time the droid, Ninee, beeped so quietly she couldn´t make out what it was saying, but judging from Ben´s reply it was another remark concerning her.

“Shut up ball or I´ll throw you out the airlock.” Her lips curved up in a smile as she imagined Ben talking to the droid in the adjacent room.

Rey stood up and noticed the chrono on the bed table. According to the digits on its display it was a little past oh-one-hundred which meant it was night aboard the vessel. Her stomach growled and Rey placed her hand on it, trying to silence it before it would wake up the whole crew. She quickly found her boots and walked over to the other room where she saw Ben squashed on a little couch with a holopad in his hand. The black droid was resting beside him, enjoying the gentle strokes of Ben´s hand against its little head. It was a BB unit, but unlike BB-8´s dome his was not perfectly spherical. Rey muffled her eyes with her hands and blinked a few times to make sure this was not a dream – she was looking at the feared Kylo Ren petting a droid. The silent chuckle that escaped her lips got Ben´s attention. He immediately stopped the caresses and dropped his holopad.

“You´re awake,” he blurted and quickly sat up.

“Obviously,” Rey said and wanted to add a smart remark but her stomach growled once again.

“I-uh…do you have something to eat?” she asked, dropping her gaze on the floor. This situation was rather unpleasant to her, she hated how she was dependent on him and his resources. If it was up to her, she´d go and find some food by herself but she doubted now was the time for that.

“Yes,” he replied and gestured at a covered plate resting on the table in one of the corners of the room.

“It´s not much, after all Ascendancy was not prepared for hosting the High Command today,” Ben explained and picked up the holopad that fell on the floor earlier. He also pressed a button on the droid and from the complains it made he was powering it off.

She nodded and walked over to sit down on one of the two chairs, each on one side of the table. It didn´t matter to her what was under the silver cover because it was certainly better than the portions she received from Unkar Platt.

When Rey picked up the cover, she was amazed by the variety of food placed on the tray. If this was something casual, how did the food for High Command look like? She closed her eyes and inhaled the various scents.  What she recognized by its specific smell was the Nerf steak, something she could only dream of on Jakku. Many visitors of Niima Outpost used to talk about how they missed this dish on the dustball they were stuck at. Rey could also identify Mid-rim plants used as a side dish but the rest of the vegetables and fruits was unknown to her.

“You waited for me to wake up to eat with me?” she asked, her eyes fixed on the small brown substance in the corner. She dipped her finger in it and then licked it, enjoying the sweetness on her tongue. The taste was incredible and she wanted to do it again, but something held her back. It was her scavenger habit to keep the good stuff for the worse times.

“No, why do you ask?” Ben replied and Rey lifted up her gaze from the tray to look at him. He seemed to have fun as she felt the amusement radiating from his side of the bond. What was funny? Her eyebrows frowned in confusion – all she did was ask politely!

“You mean this is all for me?” Rey couldn´t believe. For such a huge portion she would have to sell her whole home back on Jakku. In no way she was supposed to eat all of this.

“Yes.”

Completely taken aback Rey sat behind the table and reached towards the steak with her bare hands. This was a challenge, to let go of her modest eating habits, but if this was a part of her new life, she´d have to adjust to it.

“Why don´t you use the utensils?” Ben asked and stood up from the couch, taking a seat in front of her on the empty chair. He placed the holopad on the corner of the fable and focused on her. Rey had a confused expression on her face, as if she didn´t know what he was talking about. His hand gestured at the fork and knife placed next to the main plate on the tray. Rey felt the warmth flooding her cheeks. She didn´t know how to use these, back on Jakku she only used her hands. Utensils were a luxury she could not afford.

“Let me show you,” Ben offered and Rey shook her head. In no way she´d embarrass herself in front of him.

“No, it´s alright, I don´t need it,” she said and carefully grasped the meat from each side. It was warm, yet another strange and rare thing for her.  As her stomach growled she decided to stop overthinking the food and just silence the rumbles inside of her by eating it. Her teeth delved into the Nerf steak and as soon as they did, liquid dripped on her clothes, leaving a dirty mark on the fabric. She cursed under her breath and saw as Ben stood up and walked around the table to bend down behind her back.

“I see.” The way he whispered in her hear sent shivers down her spine. What was he doing? Soon, Rey got her answer. Ben placed his right hand over hers and grabbed the knife. The warmth behind her back, the gentleness in his voice, Maker, it took a lot to handle her emotions under the lock and keep a straight face.

“Hold it like this, straighten your index finger and use it to control the direction of the knife. Don´t press too hard on it.”

His left hand was suddenly placed atop of hers, taking the fork. Rey nodded, letting him to show her what she was supposed to do. It might come handy later.

“Stab it in the steak, few centimeters from the edge.” To demonstrate how, Ben gently pressed on her palm, curling her fingers around the upper part of the fork. His touch on her skin was something Rey wasn´t quite used to – it made her feel things she hadn´t experienced before and when she was not in the control of her feelings she felt insecure.

He then lead the way as he gently pressed the fork into the steak. Afterwards Ben took her right hand which was holding the knife and let the blade rest behind the fork.

“Now all you do is gently press the tip and move it back and forth.” Rey nodded and while his hands were still on hers, he didn´t do anything. She guessed it was her turn now. Just as he said, she slightly pressed on the knife with her index finger and started moving it forward and backwards. After few movements a small part of the steak separated from the rest. She did it!

Feeling proud of herself, Rey moved her head to thank Ben. Just as she tilted it and looked away from the tray she found their faces incredibly close. All of sudden she could feel his warm breaths on her left cheek, sending waves of shivers down her whole body. The words she longed to speak were stuck on her tongue, thanks to his mouth being dangerously close to her own. When she could look at him from such closeness, his lower lip seemed to be even more full, more tempting. The flow of her thoughts was a shock – she has never thought about a man like that. Her heart was racing faster than when she expected to be terminated in Snoke´s throne room. Rey gulped, swallowing the things she wanted to say.

Ben had his eyes fixed on hers, whereas she could only stare at his lips. The tension in between them grew with each of his exhales. Rey, on the other hand found herself so paralyzed that she forgot how to breathe and just stayed still, not turning away, not saying anything, just staring at his lips and later eyes.

They lasted like that for a while, not saying a word before he withdrew and returned to his seat.

Still speechless Rey quietly placed the fork in her mouth and chewed the meat slowly.

“For the side dish, put the fork in one place and use the knife to move parts of it onto the fork,” Ben said but his voice sounded – different.  

Rey nodded and continued to eat in silence. Soon, all the quietness started to get irritating. Her heart has still not settled to a normal pace after the incident and she was worried it was so loud that he could hear it. Right now Ben was doing something on the holopad so he wasn´t entirely focused on her, but still, he had proven many times that he was capable of surprising her without raising suspicions on her side. Rey did definitely not want him to know how their closeness made her feel, after all she herself didn´t know what to think about it.

“So why are you up so late anyways,” she asked, breaking the tension in the room. It was her desperate attempt to focus on something different rather than what happened moments ago.

“Thinking about what to do and not mess it up,” he replied and looked up from his holopad.

“I want to settle peace in the galaxy. I want to end the suffering of innocent worlds just because of Snoke´s remorseles rule. I want to serve people,” he spoke with passion and the spark in his eyes was something that caught Rey´s attention.

“But some of the admirals will not cooperate, they want a cruel dictatorship, centering the power in their hands,” Ben added and clenched his fists at the thought that he´d have to deal with them in either one way, which was diplomatic and preferred by many or in case of failure, his crimson red blade and/or use of the Force.

“Why not reinstate the Republic then?” Rey asked innocently. He seemed to share most of the goals of the old regime that the First Order was responsible for eradicating. She did not expect that such question would fuel the reaction she received. Ben´s fist hit the table so hard that some of the food fell over the edge of her plate.

“The New Republic was filthy, corrupt system, no different from the Republic from the Clone Wars era. The Senators did nothing, absolutely nothing to help people. My grandfather was a slave when the Jedi found him back then. It was the Empire that made sure my uncle was born as a freeborn child. The New Republic allowed Snoke to raise to power and how could that be done without the corrupt senators? The promise of power and money took countless of lives from innocent people!”

Even though Ben started the sentence in relatively silent and steady voice, his last words were practically screams. Rey was surprised. She had never looked at things that way. It was mostly because she grew up on Jakku, the stories of the Republic and the Empire were myths, she could not tell what was a lie and what was not. At the end of the day, everyone fought for themselves and her life was in her own hands.

 “And on top of all of things it took my mother from me,” he growled, his tone much more lower this time.

 Ben then turned around to hit the wall with his fists, over and over again. Once his hands collided with the metal he let out a scream which was mix of pain and anger, but the hurt didn´t stop him from continuing. After he was done, his whole body was trembling.

Rey was in shock from what she´s just witnessed. She´d try to go and comfort him, but something was holding her back, telling her to stay still.

“You might ask if I want an Empire. Yes, I do. But different from the one that Darth Sidious had,” he stated and collapsed to the ground. Ben´s back was pressed against the wall, legs spread wide, hair falling to his face. His lower lip was trembling and blood was streaming down his knuckles.

Rey felt the darkness summoning him, she felt how it was taking Ben away from her – turning him into Kylo Ren. She couldn´t believe that just a while ago she had seen the same man petting a droid and teaching her how to use the utensils. Now when she stood up, nothing was holding her back. This situation was a reminder why she was there – to help Ben find the light and balance the darkness.

She slowly approached him, still keeping her distance just in case he did something unpredictable. Rey couldn´t see into Ben´s face, his hair was in the way, but the pain she felt through the bond they shared said enough. The thoughts of his family brought enormous amount of suffering and despair to him.

Rey recognized herself in the situation. Sometimes, when somebody on Jakku angered her, she ran into the dunes and hit the sand repeatedly with her fists, mad at everyone, at her parents for leaving her there, at people who treated her unfairly, at Unkar Platt for not giving her enough ration packs. But then, she put on the helmet of Raeh, the Rebellion pilot, and she let the light guide her. She imagined herself as a hero, saving people who suffered as she did. This was when Ben chose a different path. He locked the light out, after being betrayed by it multiple times. Rey remembered how unfairly Luke Skywalker acted towards him and she made a choice. No matter how deep Ben would fall, she´d always be around to show him the light.

When she was closer to Ben´s collapsed body, Rey kneeled down and tucked the strand of the dark hair away from his face so her eyes could meet his. Beside the obvious hurt, she noticed the drops in the corner of his eyes. She laid her hand down on his shoulder and spoke quietly.

“You´re not alone.” While one of her hands was still resting on his shoulder, she used the other to take her clothes and wipe away the blood from his knuckles. He sat still, silently observing her every move. When the fabric met with wound directly he pressed his lips tightly, swallowing the screams. Instead, he focused on the features of her face. He didn´t notice it, but this was how he let the light in, suppressing the darkness.

“You´re not alone now, and you will never be,” Rey added and and squeezed his shoulder just to reinforce her statement.

“Will you be my Empress?” Ben asked after he let the meaning behind her sentence sink in.

Rey froze, dropping the bundle of clothes in her left hand. Her eyes met Ben´s and all she could see was hope. His hope to finally not be alone. Hope for the galaxy to be a better place once there were no more wars. Hope for her to help her friends by honoring their cause in the new Empire. Hope for Ben Solo to come home.

“I thought I already said yes on the Supremacy,” she replied and curved her lips in a small smile.

**Author´s note: I hope you liked this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it! If you find any grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out, I am not a native speaker :) Any feedback is appreciated!**

**-Naty (much love for my readers, xoxo, you´re awesome)**


	3. 3 - Let the past die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two could play this game. His hand reached towards the bed stand where the Skywalker saber rested. Within a few moments the cold hilt was in his firm grasp. He activated it with the typical snap hiss sound, fixing his eyes on Rey´s.
> 
> “The winner gets to shower first,” he said and used her loss of focus to blow the first strike. She quickly figured out his intentions and blocked the attack with the red blade.
> 
> “Well then it better doesn´t end as a tie,” Rey mumbled and moved the crossguard to block the following sequences Ben drew one after another.

The red blade running through the chest of Han Solo. The blue blade trying to cut Snoke in half but failing. Rey dying in a mutiny. His mother dying by the hands of his wingmen.  All of these images flooded Ben´s mind in his sleep. In every situation, he was paralyzed, there was nothing he could do to save the ones he loved and destroy those who were responsible for their deaths.

“Ben?” A distant voice called out, but he wouldn´t listen. He had to fight it, the darkness that haunted him.

“Ben!” This time he heard it more clearly, as if it was coming closer…

“BEN!” His eyes shot open, recognizing Rey´s silhouette looming above him. A few strands of his dark hair soaked in sweat fell to his face as he quickly sat up on the floor.

So it was not real, it was a nightmare. Ben sighed. It was foolish to think that after Snoke´s influence in his mind was gone, the bad dreams would disappear. His eyes searched for Rey´s. She kneeled beside him, running her hand up and down his back.

“What happened?”

Silence.

What happened? Rey asked again, this time without speaking the words loudly, letting her eyes and feelings voice her question.

“A nightmare,” Ben quietly replied and stood up, marching back and forth near the viewport of his chambers. Usually the calmness of deep space soothed his thoughts. Not long after his pace settled and his eyes focused on the stars, he heard Rey´s footsteps behind him.

“Did I wake you?” He asked and clenched his fists at the thought that it were probably his screams and pleads that interrupted Rey´s sleep. He hated it. He hated that he had no control of the thoughts while he was asleep.

“No, not entirely. I just can´t sleep on such soft mattress. You should have let me sleep on the floor,” Rey replied. He could not see her expression, but he guessed she was smiling. Oh, her smile, one thing that was brighter than any star in the galaxy. Ever since they joined forces, her smile would appear more and more often and he was getting addicted to her expression of happiness. Ben closed his eyes and pictured as her lips curved in the corners, how it partially revealed her teeth. The next thing he knew, all of the anger he felt before was gone. He was left with a feeling that he hadn´t felt in a really long time – joy. Was it was a weakness or a strength? Ben guessed he´d have to figure it out later.

“Of course not, the future Empress of the whole galaxy sleeping on the floor? Don´t even think about it,” Ben finally replied, turning to face her. When he just woke up he overlooked her appearance, but now, when his mind was settled, his breath was taken away by the sight of her.

Rey stood there with her hair loose, settled on her shoulders. She was wearing one of his robes – the Ascendancy had not the appropriate clothing for an Empress, but he´d make sure they would stop to purchase all things necessary.

The dark fabric covered her upper body and the whole way down her thighs, it stopped just above her knees. The sleeves were very loose, after all he was taller and therefore had longer hands. Everything was too big for her but she did not complain, she felt comfortable. It were not the clothes that intrigued him the most, it was her smile, just as he imagined it.

“Says the future Emperor who sleeps on the floor,” Rey retorted and raised her eyebrow. How could he tell her not to sleep on the floor because she rules the galaxy when she could tell him the same thing?

“Got me,” Ben admitted and without realizing it, his lips formed a smile as well.

“Maker, what is wrong with your face?” Rey asked and he froze. His hand instinctively ran across his mouth. What if he drooled while he slept?

“Your smile, Ben.” She chuckled and he rolled his eyes.

“I don´t smile.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No I don´t!”

“Whatever…will we go to sleep or do you have something planned?” Rey asked and glanced at the chrono, accepting defeat once again.

“What time is it?” Ben had completely lost track of time and when he remembered how many important things he´d have to do today his stomach clenched with nervousness.

“Oh-four-hundred.” If they wanted, they could still have good two hours of sleep, but after the nightmare Ben didn´t feel like sleeping at all and Rey seemed to be the same.

“If you want, go to sleep, I´ll wake you up at oh-six, I am going to have my morning training session and a shower.”

“Oh, so you do all the fun stuff in our new Empire but I have to be the boring one,” Rey complained and after she said it her expression froze with fear. She covered her mouth with her hand just to prevent any more secrets surfacing. This was her internal thought she did not plan on speaking out loud.

“Do you want to join me?” Ben offered, surprised by her honesty. He did expect her to get more and more bold with time, but not so quickly. Their mutual relationship and trust were very fragile and it would take cycles, maybe even years to build after what they´ve been through.

“In the shower?” Rey whispered in between her fingers. Cold sweat flooded her at the image of the two of them – NO! What the Force was happening to her?

“On the training session, Rey what is going on?” Ben asked, amused by the situation. What could possibly make Rey so open-minded and cheesy, joking about a shared shower just days after slashing his face open with a lightsaber?

Then he remembered what was included on the menu of their dinner. Wikantha jelly. For men, it was a good dessert with a sweet taste and it was cheap – the First Order could afford to buy some for its commanders.

For women, however, it had the same effect as alcohol, due to the reactions it roused with female hormones. Never having it before, it probably meant Rey was a little drunk. He noted mentally to cross the item off their next dinners.

“I don´t know, I feel a little dizzyyy,” Rey replied and shook her head. This was not how she wanted to feel. She did not want to explore her true feelings. She didn´t believe them. She wanted to bury them, just as she buried the thoughts of her family. When she remembered what happened to her parents, she felt anger flow in her veins.

“Ben, did you poison me? Why am I being like this?” With her rising wrath she felt the feeling of dizziness lighten and then suddenly disappear.

Ben stood there, fascinated. Rey just used the dark side of the Force to clean her body off of intoxication. From his studies at the Jedi academy, he learned it was one of the techniques that the Jedi borrowed from the Sith. Of course, in a light side variation the Force sensitive focused on the living energy inside of him to draw the poison out of their body, but still, it was based on a Sith technique.

It was interesting to see how easily Rey inclined to the dark side when it came to cleaning herself. Ben smiled at the thought that maybe it would not be as hard to convince her to at least try using the dark side of the Force as he had expected.

“Do you remember the brown substance you liked at the dinner?” His voice brought Rey back to reality. As a sign of agreement, her head bobbed up and down twice. She quickly withdrew from her anger and grasped the light inside of her, like she always had.

 “That´s Wikantha jelly, for women it causes the same affects as alcohol. I am sorry about it, I completely forgot.”

“It´s alright, I was just…” Rey blushed as she remembered how easily her thoughts escaped her lips, without her brain allowing them to do so.

“Don´t worry about it. So do you want to sleep or spar?”

“What do you think?” Rey asked and raised an eyebrow. All of sudden he saw his lightsaber in her hands as she moved into attack position. Ben was surprised by her choice of the weapon, but decided to accept the challenge. There may occur situations where they´d need to swap weapons, so it was good to be prepared.

 Two could play this game. His hand reached towards the bed stand where the Skywalker saber rested. Within a few moments the cold hilt was in his firm grasp. He activated it with the typical snap hiss sound, fixing his eyes on Rey´s.

“The winner gets to shower first,” he said and used her loss of focus to blow the first strike. She quickly figured out his intentions and blocked the attack with the red blade.

“Well then it better doesn´t end as a tie,” Rey mumbled and moved the crossguard to block the following sequences Ben drew one after another. It was strange, because back then on Starkiller it was her who was testing his defensive skills.

“What if it does?” Ben´s question was barely audible because their locked blades were humming with great intensity, but it was loud enough for Rey to hear it.

“It won´t. I am going to kick your ass,” she retorted and with a swing she moved to the right, breaking free of the lock and using the opportunity to attack on his unguarded side. Ben grinned as this was exactly what he expected her to say. Rey didn´t notice but she let her guards towards the dark side down, letting the passion control her actions. He had seen it happen in Snoke´s throne room – she was very determined and once her mind settled on something, she would do anything to get it. And this was how he´d teach her the ways of the dark side.

“In your dreams, sweetheart,” Ben mumbled as he blocked her strike without even looking in her direction.

“Too predictable. Rey, focus on the Force, not your fighting style. Try to let it show you my next moves, adjust your strikes to the images of future,” he lectured and detracted the blue blade, walking towards her.

Rey was surprised. Did this mean he was giving up? No, something felt off. She did as he instructed and focused on the living Force inside her. With her eyes closed she couldn´t see Ben, but he was close, she could sense him, feel him in the Force. He was –

Her eyes shot open and she turned around, blocking his strike just seconds before it could be fatal.

“Very good,” he complimented her and handed her the Skywalker lightsaber.

“Do you give up?” Rey asked playfully but was a little sad, she hoped to defeat him and show him that she was better than he thought. When she held the hilt she was more familiar with, she detracted the blade for good and threw it on the bed where she´d collect it later.

“Let´s say I let you win, that makes me sound more like a man,” Ben muffled and accepted his own lightsaber, clipping it to his belt.

“Is that what you did at Starkiller? Let me win?” Rey frowned her eyebrows. How could she even ask this? Of course he did not.

“Yes,” Ben replied and walked towards the closet to pick his outfit for one of the most important days in his life.

“Come on, we know I´m a better –“

“No. I really did let you win. What would happen if I won? You´d have to be brought to Snoke and I would not know what he´d do with you – and me. One of us would end up dead, I am sure about that,” he replied and took out the black robes he chose to wear.

“So you…” Rey saddened. Suddenly her victory felt more like a defeat.

“I was weakened by the hit of Chewbacca´s bowcaster and the battle with the traitor-“

“Finn!” Rey interrupted, frowning at the mention of her friend. Where was he now? Did he manage to survive or was he aboard one of the transports that was blown to pieces? She didn´t know whether it was false hope or the Force, but something was telling her he was alive.

“and I knew you´d not kill me. I knew it would cost me something, but it was for the best.” Ben completely ignored Rey´s interruption and continued with explaining his point of view. At the mention of sacrificing something, his hand instinctively trailed along the scar on his face.

Rey was completely shook by this revelation. Everything she seemed to believe was wrong, starting with the Jedi, Luke Skywalker and ending with her “victory” against Kylo Ren.

Sensing her disturbance, Ben turned around from the closet and walked towards her, stopping inches away from her body.

“Let the past die,” he whispered and gestured towards the door in the corner.

“Go have a shower, I´ll get us breakfast and then we´ll discuss some serious topics, I don´t want you to be bothered by the events that happened when we were enemies.” His voice was soft and Rey nodded. It was time to focus on the future, where things would be the way they wanted them to be. No longer being able to look at him, her gaze dropped to her feet. She heard his footsteps becoming more distant and before he´d be gone she wanted to say something to him.

“Ben?” Rey asked, looking up from the floor to meet his eyes. He was about to leave the room but as soon as he heard her voice, he stopped and turned around.

“Thank you,” she whispered and then left for the bathroom. Something was telling her that this day was going to be a long one so a warm shower seemed to be a good start of it.

 

**Author´s note: This was more-less a filler chapter, but I wanted to hint at Ben using the light side and Rey using the dark :) More fun starts with the next chapter!**

**Any feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated!**

**-Naty xoxo**


	4. 4 - Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There´s always another way,” Ben mumbled and wiped away a single tear that fell from her right eye with his thumb.
> 
> “And what is that?”
> 
> “The balance.”

“Really?” Rey asked with a wide smile.

 _“I have a recording,”_  the droid beeped and the young girl excitedly kneeled beside the black BB unit.

“Please show me, Ninee, I really want to see it!” According to the astromech, on the first day Ben tried using a cape he stepped on it and fell down on the floor. Rey would do anything to see him sprawled on the ground.

The beginning of the holo-recording already started, showing young Ben in the blue light. He was standing in front of the mirror, attaching the black fabric to his shoulders. Rey had to admit, he looked like a prince getting ready for a royal wedding. She didn´t know why was he so nervous about the cape though, it did suit him nicely.

 _“It´s electricity-dampening. My Master used it to protect himself from Supreme Leader Snoke´s Force lightning,”_ Rey turned her head to the droid. Was it able to read minds?

Her eyes focused on the young man marching around the quarters, adjusting himself to the blowing cape behind him. Poor Ben, he had spent years under Snoke´s influence. If he wasn´t already dead, Rey would do anything to pierce his chest with her lightsaber.

 _“Now it´s the good part!”_  Ninee beeped with as much excitement a droid could have and Rey interrupted her thoughts, focusing on the recording.

“Good part of what?” a voice from the door asked and the black BB unit cursed, quickly turning off the projection. Rey was surprised by its ability to use swear words, but she understood its situation. If Ben found out what it was showing to her, it would probably be sent to be melted down to pieces.

“Nothing,” Rey mumbled and blushed. “Nothing important,” she added and stood up, walking to meet Ben halfway.

The future Emperor resisted to demand more information – he could just check Ninee´s memory card later. What was about to happen today was really important so he´d rather not upset Rey – he needed her on his good side.

He placed the trays with food on the table, waiting for Rey to sit down first.

“You better not intoxicate me today,” she teased playfully as he sat in front of her.

“Don´t worry,” Ben replied and uncovered their trays, revealing a bowl with oatmeal and ingredients Rey could add to her liking.

“I didn´t know what you´d like so I brought all of it. I like the cinnamon flavor but not everyone is a fan of the taste,” he said and grabbed the spoon to start his breakfast.

“I had it twice on Jakku and I liked it,” Rey replied and decided to spill out the brown powder in her bowl. Spoon seemed to be easy to use and just as she thought it didn´t take long to use it as if she was eating with it her whole life.

“So what is the plan for today?” Rey asked in between swallowing the mouthful of the oatmeal.

“We need to get you proper closet for an Empress, we´ll be attending a lot of ceremonies these next few rotations after all. The Ascendancy will soon reach the Core worlds where I am sure we can find you some dresses. After that we´ll head to Coruscant where I arranged a meeting with all of the generals – they´ll have to accept us as the leaders of the First Order. At 1800, we´ll be on a galaxy-wide broadcast where we declare a new Galactic Empire and tomorrow there will be a coronation held at the Imperial Palace.”

Rey´s face went pale after she´d heard all the things she´d have to do. Was it all worth it?

“I don´t think I can do all of this,” she whispered, suddenly losing all of the appetite. Almost everyone would recognize her now. Just a week ago she was no one, just a scavenger on Jakku. And now, she was a Jedi, at least a sort of, and soon to be an Empress?

“Rey, look at me,” Ben said and reached out to grab her hand. His fingers intertwined with hers and as their eyes joined he gently stroked his thumb over her palm.

“I have no idea how to do this, and I am scared just as you are. But you´re with me. You don´t have to be alone.” His voice was soft, just as the movements of his thumb. Rey nodded and closed her eyes, trying to find her answers in the Force. Was she following the right path or was she slowly becoming a slave of the Dark side? The light inside her flickered, soothing her worries, leaving her completely relaxed. She knew she was right where she needed to be.

“Thank you.”

-x-

Rey was more nervous than ever. This day was coming to the most important part – meeting the Generals. Without their support, the new Empire would not last long and neither would she or Ben. These men were dangerous, their lust for power blinded their judgement and they were capable of doing anything just to save their influence in the galaxy.

“What if they don´t agree?” she asked, turning to see Ben who was fitting in his ceremonial robes. He looked very handsome, she had to admit. The black of his outer robe was topped with red ornaments, trailing the outline of the fabric.

Her own dress was toned in black and red as well. Rey blushed as she remembered the way Ben complimented her when he had seen her in the dress for the first time.

“We´ll show them who has the upper hand,” Ben answered and clipped the lightsaber to his belt. Just as his robes, even the lightsaber´s color palette was fitting his look of the future Emperor.

“We should negotiate first,” Rey suggested. She was no big fan of bringing violence to the way they´d rule. Conflicts should be solved using diplomacy first. Ben however seemed to have different opinion, though.

“They can´t be negotiated with, otherwise they´ll have no respect.”

“Alright. So how do we show them we have the upper hand?” Rey could accept not-negotiating with the military officers, but for politicians she´d demand being polite. She´d bring it up back when Ben would be less stressed than he was now.

“Quite literally. You should extend your hand and Force choke them,” he said and pulled on his boots, completing the outfit and ready to leave for the meeting.

“I can´t do that?” Rey protested, refusing to introduce herself to the generals as a cruel monster their former leader used to be. She wanted a change. With hearing Snoke had no problem with hurting Ben with his powers, she was almost sure he had used it on other high ranking officers as well.

“Rey, you have to. Otherwise they´ll have zero respect for you and your words will not be equal to mine.”

“I can´t…”

“You will not be killing them, at least not for now. It´s for a good cause, remember,” Ben insisted, passion sparking in his eyes.

“You have a point,” she admitted.

“It will be good,” he said and Rey nodded, following him out of their quarters in the Imperial palace to the main conference room which was five levels below.

When they entered the room, everyone stopped their chatter to look at the new Emperor and Empress. Rey recognized Hux, the ginger general Ben told her was the most crucial to persuade. What was surprising the most was the fact that there were no other officers than the humanoids. That would be one of the things she´d like to change. Why could not other races take part in running the government? She mentally noted to remind Ben of this later. Right now, they both had to focus on persuading the board of the Generals to support their new Empire.

The men didn´t even bother to stand up as a sign of formality and she could feel Ben getting slightly angered. To remind him she was there, Rey placed her hand on his lower back and reassured him he was not alone.

“We shall skip the civilities and get straight to the discussion of the Command of the First Order,” Ben spoke with cold voice, without any hint of emotion.

“The military shall stay under the command of General Hux,” he spoke, dropping his gaze to the ginger. Hux nodded, grinning lightly at the other generals present at the meeting.

“Every one of you stays in command of your division, actually, and you all submit to me as an Emperor and Rey as the Empress,” Ben announced, scanning the men´s reactions. Most of them were shocked – one of the generals even choked on his water.

“Emperor and the Empress?” one of the officers asked and Rey froze. She knew what would follow and she wasn´t ready. She prayed to the Force that this was the only one who did not approve of them as the rulers.

“Is there something you don´t agree with?” Ben asked piercing the man with his cold stare. Rey could feel his hand on her lower back press slightly against her skin. This was their signal they agreed on to use the Force choke. She closed her eyes, persuading herself it was for the greater good of the galaxy.

“She has no military experience and you, Ren, you were just Snoke´s puppet to –“

This was enough for Rey to release the energy that has been building up in her since they entered the room. The fear of failure, the anger she felt when someone doubted her, the hatred for the board of Generals, these feelings all twisted in her soul, feeding the Dark side with enormous energy.

She extended her hand and just as she did, Ben stroked her back gently, calming her down, reassuring she was not alone. The brown haired general gasped in surprise, bringing his hands up to his neck.

“I suggest you never doubt my, or Ren´s capabilities ever again,” Rey hissed, tightening the invisible grip on the officer´s throat, leaving him just the amount of air he needed to survive.

This was supposed to be a lesson, to show the other men what would happen if they ever doubted her or Ben. Hopefully it was enough to persuade them to stick to their posts and forget their ambitions to grab Snoke´s place as the Supreme Leader.

The slight double tap on her lower back brought her back from the trance she experienced, the want to end the General´s life right there. What was happening to her? This was not who she was and wanted to be. The tendrils of the Dark side poking on her mental shields, nudging to get in, to breach her walls and claim her as one of their own.

“Rey,” Ben whispered and she released the grasp, pushing away the temptation that using the Force choke brought to her.

“Any other objections?” The future Emperor´s low tone sent shivers down the officers´ spines. Everyone would think twice before they´d speak their opinion.

“No, Your Highness,” Hux said and eyed every general in the room. There were some individuals that might have some objections, but they were wise enough to keep it to themselves. He would talk to them later, deciding whether to obey Ren or eliminate him once and for all.

“Excellent. In two hours we´ll be broadcasting galaxy-wide about declaring the Empire. In three days there will be a feast to celebrate the late Supreme Leader´s great sacrifice to destroy the Resistance and I´d like all of you to attend,” Ben spoke and with that he turned to leave the room, guiding Rey with the hand that still rested on her lower back.

Once they were on the hallway that lead to their new quarters, Rey stopped and turned to face him.

“Ben-“

“Kylo. In the public, please,” he said and Rey nodded. She was sure no one was there at the moment, but she wasn´t in the mood for an argument at the moment.

“I felt something, back in the conference room. The cold taking over me. I am afraid. I am afraid that one day I will not be able to resist the darkness and that I will be left with no choice but surrender.”

He noticed the drops forming in her eyes. Something was wrong. Ben brought one of his hands to cup her cheek and stroke it gently.

Rey spoke quietly, gaze dropped to the ground. The fear of falling to the Dark side was something nobody prepared her for. Luke said something about balance, that when there was powerful light that there´d be powerful darkness, but she thought it didn´t include her. Perhaps she was wrong.

“There´s always another way,” Ben mumbled and wiped away a single tear that fell from her right eye with his thumb.

“And what is that?”

“The balance.”

****Author´s note: I know I promised the good stuff to be in this chapter but it seemed appropriate to end it here and I got a few more ideas so...you´ll have to wait a bit but hopefully it´ll be worth it! :)** **

****Every comment is appreciated xoxo** **

****_-Naty_ ** **


	5. 5 - Forming stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His proximity was scary – and not just in the terms of physical contact. Rey was shocked how close they managed to get in the span of just a few days. He had saved her life and she had saved his. Most of the people would think that their debt was even, but she felt as if it made their destinies intertwined, forever.

_“There´s always another way,” Ben mumbled and wiped away a single tear that fell from her right eye with his thumb._

_“And what is that?”_

_“The balance.”_

 

The tension in between them rose with every breath they made. Every second that passed, Rey felt Ben´s touch on her cheek leaving burning marks on her skin, even though it was just the tip of his thumb that was stroking her gently. She closed her eyes, trying to break free of the intense eye-contact they shared.

His proximity was scary – and not just in the terms of physical contact. Rey was shocked how close they managed to get in the span of just a few days. He had saved her life and she had saved his. Most of the people would think that their debt was even, but she felt as if it made their destinies intertwined, forever. And that was something she wasn´t used to – to having someone there for her when she needed it.

When she re-opened her eyes, Rey found Ben staring at her, his dark eyes sparkling with energy. It was like the birth of a star, from the depth and darkness of the universe, rising light that would burst out with immense power.

 His look was intense, just like it was in the throne room. His gaze was flicking between her eyes and her lips. The thought of it made her stomach clench with nervousness, yet the feeling wasn´t unpleasant. As a matter of fact, Rey found herself doing the same thing, drawn to press her lips against his. Not being able to tell for sure, she believed that Ben was leaning in and when Rey realized what may happen, she got terrified. This would lead to a commitment, a step she was not ready to take. Despite that, she did nothing to stop him, to free of his touch and run away.

Rey´s breathing almost stopped when Ben added his other hand to cup her face, now having her completely in his will. His large hands were now caressing both of her cheeks, his thumbs forming small circles, holding her head steady.

She wasn´t feeling uncomfortable and that´s what scared her the most. Her mind was telling her to duck, to free from his grasp and leave before it got too serious, before she´d get emotionally invested. Because if she fell in love with him, she might get hurt. Every experience with love she´s had ended in heartbreak, be it her parents or admiration for Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Order. No matter how much she´d wanted for Ben to do it – the fear of getting hurt was too real to just ignore. Her heart, however, told her to stop closing herself in, to open up and embrace what was happening because she deserved to be loved.

While all of this internal turmoil took place, Rey felt as her hands lifted from beside her body to grasp Ben just above his hips. Just as her palms rested on the fabric, she felt his breath on her face. If she wanted this to stop, she´d have to do something now, otherwise the kiss would be inevitable. Knowing she was not ready to reject the feeling of affection, because she desperately craved it ever since she was a child, Rey closed her eyes and held her breath.

The gentle breeze that was blowing in the gardens of the Imperial Palace suddenly changed course and brought a strain of Rey´s hair to her face. Ben released a chuckle and tossed it behind her ear, making sure it would stay there. Rey gasped, not just because she was holding breath for too long, but also because she heard Ben Solo laugh. It was a sound she hasn´t expected to hear but she was glad she did. Monsters like Kylo Ren couldn´t laugh at such things – it meant that slowly but steadily, Ben Solo was breaking from the shell he created to hide from everyone.

Rey´s own lips curved at the thought that se was witnessing the rebirth of Ben Solo.

When all of the disobedient hair was out of his way, Ben glanced at Rey´s mouth. How much he wanted to join it with his, to feel her softness, to gently brush his tongue with hers. Something was holding him back, though, the fear of rejection and heartbreak. Knowing it wasn´t the right time to kiss her, he brought his lips to her forehead and pressed softly, still stroking her cheeks and caressing her face. He shivered at the contact with her skin and a wave of excitement flooded his body.

At first, when she felt his lips pressed on her forehead, she felt relieved that he didn´t cross the boundaries – but few moments later, as the warmth of his kiss faded, she wished he had. Maybe another time, she thought and opened her eyes.

None of them said a word, as they were worried that once the silence was broken, the moment would be gone. They both wanted to savor and cherish it, as it was for the first time in a long time that they felt pure joy.

All of sudden Ben dropped his hands from Rey´s face to use one of them to press her to his chest, whereas the other one was stroking her back gently. Rey curled her hands around his back and closed her eyes, feeling the Force around her twinkle with energy.

_“Leia, it´s been the fourth time his tantrum resulted into breaking things everywhere around him. What if in the future, once he´s older and more powerful, things as furniture won´t be enough? What if he´ll start destroying people?”_

_“Han! He´s our son!”_

_“Then why do people look at us as if we were raising a monster? I only want it to stop. I just wish he was a normal child, without those freaky powers he got from your side of the family.”_

_“So it´s my fault he´s like that?” Leia Organa furrowed her brows and started marching around the quarters. She made sure they kept it quiet, behind closed doors so their son wouldn´t know about their worries. Little did she know that he could hear every single word that was spoken._

_“I didn´t mean it like that…I just want what´s best for him,” Han added and tried to calm Leia down._

_Young Ben Solo was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees, tears streaming down his face._

_“I didn´t want to!” he muffled into his legs, releasing more and more tears._

Rey gasped for air as she just witnessed another of Ben´s memories. Did he know she had seen it? From what it seemed he couldn´t and probably it was for the better. Most likely he had let his guard down as he wanted to focus on their shared embrace. Trying not to alert him, Rey suppressed the vision, noting to herself that she´d have to go back to it later.

“My Lady, My Lord,” a voice said awkwardly and both, Ben and Rey quickly jumped away from each other, as if they were caught doing something illegal. Rey´s cheeks were flushed with red so she tried to avoid eye contact with the elderly human male. Ben coughed to clear his voice and turned to face the man, keeping his hand on Rey´s back.

“The broadcast will be ready in 30 minutes, sir.” With that, the grey haired man rushed away, leaving the future rulers of the galaxy alone.

“If you wouldn´t mind, I´d like to re-do my hair and fix my make-up,” Rey babbled, finding an excuse to disappear as soon as possible. She never cared for her looks, but at the thought that the whole galaxy would focus on her, trying to find imperfections on her face made her feel sick. She wanted to go to the bathroom – not because of the make-up which was minimal and barely noticeable anyway, but because she felt like throwing up.

Ben nodded. “I need to go grab the speech and we can rehearse it later. Meet you here in fifteen minutes?” he asked.

“Alright,” Rey agreed and walked away, leaving Ben who couldn´t bring himself to go, still staring at her until she disappeared.

 

**Author´s note:** **I am so sorry this took so long to post, I hope the wait was worth it :) I am not a native speaker and I got too excited about posting this so there are some mistakes that I may have overseen while proof reading so feel free to correct me! :)**

**Feedback is appreciated <3**

 

**love, -Naty xoxo**


	6. 6 - The Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey´s performance kept the crowds intrigued and while they´ve never heard of her, they´ve already started to like her. Unlike other politicians, you could feel from her words that she meant every word that she´d said.
> 
> Discussing many important topics, Rey´s nervousness faded away now that she realized that with all the spuriousness happening in the galaxy she finally had the power to do something about it. And as her look wandered to Ben standing beside her, she knew she wasn´t alone.

Leia sighed as she looked out of the window at the endless swivel of the hyperspace from the Falcon´s cockpit. She was surprised that only Chewbacca and R2-D2 returned, meaning that Rey had stayed with Luke on Ahch-To.

At the thought of her twin brother she smiled, hoping that once Rey´s training would be finished, he´d come back with her and Leia would finally get to see him after all those years.

“Leia, are you alright?” Poe asked, sitting on the only chair left behind her.

“I´ve been better,” she replied and an image of young Ben with Han flashed in her mind.  
“and I´ve been worse,” she added, trying to suppress the memories, focusing on the current situation of the Resistance. Their fleet was destroyed and there were about two hundreds of the members with a few other thousands of silent supporters – there was no other option but to lay low and re-group, allowing the First Order to strengthen their reign and iron grip over the galaxy.

 

Finn entered the cockpit, followed by Rose. The two made it out of Snoke´s flagship right in time, moments before the Raddus flew into the Supremacy.

No one was in the mood to speak – they were all questioning the survival of the spark that should light the fire that would burn the First Order down.

The deep silence was interrupted by Chewie – he was pointing at one of the buttons on the panel which began beeping and flashing.

“Galaxy-wide frequency for emergency transmissions? What´s happened?” Poe asked as he reached to press it.

Blue luminescent light swallowed the cockpit. Everyone present held their breath, wondering what the kriff was going on.

 _“…more about this from Lord Kylo Ren,”_ a man with grey hair said, stepping out of the light. At the mention of her son Leia sharpened her senses.

A few seconds later, he was standing there, in the middle of the Falcon´s cockpit. Leia was overwhelmed with emotions as she saw her grown up son for the first time in years. He was no longer a boy – but a beautiful young man with too much of his father´s features in his face.

 _“Dear citizens of the First Order,”_ his deep voice echoed throughout the solar systems – and Leia had to grasp her seat in order to keep sitting steady.

_“These last few rotations, many galaxy-shaping events had happened that you should be aware of. In the battle above Crait, Supreme Leader Snoke managed to conquer the last of the Resistance, however in doing so he had to sacrifice his life to protect you, all of you – so you could live in peace, with no more wars threatening your home worlds.”_

“Can´t we turn it off? I am sick of the propaganda,” Finn muttered and wished he could switch off the holo transmission.

“Not yet, there might be some more information about who´ll be Snoke´s descendant – where they´ll be governing from and much more,” Poe said and Leia nodded: “We have to keep listening.”

It was hard for the General to accept the fall of the Resistance while her son kept staring at her. Everything felt like a betrayal. For so long, she´d been clinging to the last strings of hope, but at the sight of Ben completely lost to the darkness, she felt like the galaxy was punishing her for all the good she´d done. Her mother, her adoptive parents, her planet, her people, her husband, her brother and even her father – they´ve all been lost thanks to the Dark side. She was not ready to add her son to the list.

 _“In his honor,”_ Kylo Ren continued, occasionally dropping gaze to read from his prepared speech,  
_“in three days from now, there will be a feast held at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, to celebrate the late Supreme Leader and the establishment of peace.”_

“Establishment of peace my ass,” Finn sighed and raised his gaze to meet the eyes of the rest of the crew in the Falcon´s cockpit.

“We need to show up and blow something up, to show everyone that the Resistance is not dead and that we are still ready to fight for people and their rights,” the former Stormtrooper said and at his statement, Rose smiled, proud that he´d decided to stand up for the right thing.

“As long as I get to blow stuff up, count me in,” Poe said and smirked at the general.

“What do you think Leia?” he asked but she raised her hand to keep them all quiet as she wanted to stay focused on Ben´s speech. Only the Force knew when and if she´d be able to see him again and she had to remember how he looked before he´d disappear for good.

The Falcon´s cockpit fell in silence again, waiting for Kylo Ren´s next words.

 

_“With the Supreme Leader´s passing you may ask who is in charge of the First Order now? This regime has always been Supreme Leader Snoke´s  – he´d been building it for years and it would be most unfortunate for us as his descendants to pretend we´re the ones who deserve to earn credits in his name. The Order´s been Supreme Leader´s lifelong piece of work and we´d like to keep it that way, therefore the board of Generals have agreed with my proposal of a new Galactic Empire!”_

Leia lowered her head as she didn´t want anyone to see the tears that had formed in her eyes. Not again. As if it was not enough to fight an Empire that´s been lead by her family member once, now she had to face it again.

“Son of a-“ Poe started but then realized the true meaning behind this phrase and decided to stay quiet.

_“It is my honor to declare the Second Galactic Empire, with the headquarters in the heart of the galaxy – Coruscant, with me as the Emperor and Rey of Jakku as the Empress! We´re pledging to serve the citizens to their needs, to hear their requests, to repair the damages the war had caused and to build an Empire strong in economics, military and to provide health care, education, job opportunities and so much more to every loyal citizen in need. Every world that´s been affected by the war with the Resistance will be offered a refund to help them stand back up on their feet!”_

After a few cuts of the crowds cheering to the occasion, the holo now focused on the new Empress.

“No way-“ a huge gasp escaped Finn´s lips as he saw his friend clad in black dress with red ornaments standing side by side with Kylo Ren. It wasn´t just the dress that had taken him aback completely – this couldn´t be the same Rey that fought with him on Starkiller and risked her life to get him off of Jakku. This had to be some sort of Ren´s twisted plan. Anger boiled in his veins as he pressed his lips tighter together and breathed furiously. Rose squeezed his palm to soothe him, but it was no help at all.

“We need to get her out!” He practically screamed but no one was responding. How could they all be so ignorant towards a girl that´s saved the entire Resistance from being blown up? How could they turn their backs on her so easily? Were they not different from the First Order army after all?

“We need to get there right now! I am sure that that bastard is keeping her as a hostage! In no way did she voluntarily agree to this!” Finn´s anger flooded the cockpit as the crew didn´t provide any response to his begs to free Rey from Kylo Ren´s grip.

“Calm down, buddy,” Poe said and offered him a bottle of Corellian whisky that was stashed under the seat.   
“No,” Finn retorted and furiously marched back and forth in the cockpit with enormous need to kick something – unfortunately that was one of the things you could not do if you were in the cockpit of Millenium Falcon. The ship was older than any of her passengers, except maybe Chewbacca and even the slightest hits could be fatal – at least that´s how it looked like.

You didn´t need to be Force sensitive to feel Finn´s wrath. The suppressed gasps, silent curses and deep breaths were only a few displays of his mood. Nothing seemed to calm him down – until Rey started reciting her speech.

 _“Greetings, citizens of the galaxy,”_ she said shyly and even though the color of the transmission was blue, Finn could see the red flooding her cheeks. In his mind, he didn´t care what the Resistance would say. He would come to Coruscant and in no way he´d leave without her.

 _“I am-“_ her voice was trembling as she looked down on her paper she was reading from.

“Can´t you see how she´s suffering?” Finn asked and clenched his fists at the sight of his friend in distress. He was about to lower his stare when he noticed Kylo Ren´s sneaky hand around Rey´s waist.

“Get your hands off of her you-“ he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he noticed how Rey reacted. Instead of pulling away from him she leaned into his touch as if it was supposed to calm her down.

“I can´t stand watching this,” Finn stated and exited the cockpit of the Falcon. Rose and Poe turned their heads to exchange looks, deciding who´d go after him. Rose volunteered and left the room.

_“I believe that the Emperor had said most of the important things that had to be said. With the war gone, we want to focus on restoring stability – equally in the Core worlds, Mid Rim and the Outer Rim.”_

Rey´s performance kept the crowds intrigued and while they´ve never heard of her, they´ve already started to like her. Unlike other politicians, you could feel from her words that she meant every word that she´d said.

Discussing many important topics, Rey´s nervousness faded away now that she realized that with all the spuriousness happening in the galaxy she finally had the power to do something about it. And as her look wandered to Ben standing beside her, she knew she wasn´t alone.

_“One of my personal projects will be helping orphans whose parents had died thanks to the war, and of course, those whose parents had abandoned them. I believe that children are the future of the Empire, and that´s why we´ve agreed to help families raise them – every planet that´s a member of the Empire will get funds to improve their universities and hospitals so that even children from poor families can learn how to read, count, write and be treated with medicaments if needed. It´s essential that they find their place in the universe and it´s the Empire´s responsibility to help them.”_

With that Rey ended her speech, gaining enormous applause from the crowds below the balcony of the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. Hundreds of thousands of people were cheering, shouting her name, then Ben´s and celebrating the Empire.

She smiled, overwhelmed by the power of light that was surrounding her – this is where she´s learned that she was right where she needed to be. Ben turned his head to smile at her and compliment Rey how she handled the performance perfectly.

In the pure joy of the moment, she clasped her hands around him and pressed herself against his chest, hugging him in the galaxy-wide broadcast. In return he lifted her up, spinning her around. Together they waved back to the crowds for a few minutes until it was time for them to return to their chambers.

“Well, at least Finn´s not here to see that,” Poe stated and kept an image of the Resistance´s mightiest hero in an embrace with their number one enemy in his mind.

 

**Author´s note: Sorry for the long delay - the school year was coming to an end and there were tons of work to do but now I am on summer break which means more time to write!!! :)**

**I hope you´ve enjoyed this chapter - any feedback is welcome and I´d love to hear from you! <3**

 

**Feel free to point out the grammar mistakes if you find them (I apologize for them - I am not a native speaker (but I am definitely trying to get better!))**

 

**-Naty, xoxo**


	7. 7 - Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No. I am going alone,” Ben replied firmly. The things he had to do had to be done discreetly, without any witnesses and evidence left behind. The less people knew about it the better. He wished he could have let Rey know about his plans, but that would put her in a dangerous situation and bring unnecessary risks. If he could avoid it, he would, even with the cost of losing her trust. He´d much rather have her angry at him, but alive.

 

´What a day,´ Rey thought as she let herself collapse onto the bed, the warmth of covers welcoming her. Hundreds of images ran through her mind as her brain was still processing the events that had happened overnight. With closed eyes she was re-living the whole speech, grateful that she didn´t mess up. She felt the sleep taking over her, but a silent beep interrupted her.

_“Kylo Ren couldn´t have picked a prettier Empress.”_

“What did you just say?” Rey asked and sat up, her eyes scanning the room for Ninee´s presence.

_“Nothing. I´ve just read the main headline of Galaxy Today.”_

Rey grasped the sheets and breathed deeply, laying back to the bed.

“Galaxy Today? You mean the biggest holo-site, with galaxy wide audience?”

 _“Yes, my lady.”_ The small black droid rolled closer towards Rey´s bed and displayed the headline for her to see.

“Maker, that´s –“  Rey rolled onto her belly, facing the little droid. What was in the article? What was their impression of her? What did they write about her?

She noticed that below the headline there was a photo of her and Ben embracing each other, exchanging a warm look and a shy smile. Of course they would choose that moment of the speech. Is this how the galaxy viewed her now? Not as their leader but as their leader´s pretty girl? And what´s worse, this is how the Resistance would find out about what actually happened to her – if Chewie hadn´t told them already.

“This- this means anyone with access to holo-net can read this,” she muttered mostly for herself. Knowing it was most likely to happen sometime soon anyways, Rey didn´t feel so good about the Resistance finding out. What would they think of her? She imagined Finn´s betrayed face looking at the holo. Rey bit her lip hard and let her head drop to the welcoming sheets.

Suddenly she was flooded with regret and doubt. Was she doing the right thing? Or was she blinded by power and affection towards Ben?

 _“Well, do you want to read what they have to say?”_  Ninee beeped and didn´t wait for an answer and decided for the Empress, letting her flip through the paragraphs. Rey was almost finished with the article when someone knocked on the door to her suite.

 “It´s me,” she heard Ben´s voice and glanced at BB-9E, telling it to turn off the projection. A few seconds later the Emperor entered the room.

“Hey,” she greeted him and smiled, tapping her hand on the bed as an invitation for him to join and sit with her.

“Hi,” he replied and noticed his droid behind her. It noticed him as well and quickly rolled towards his feet, bumping into them over and over, demanding his attention.

“Cut it!” he hissed, but Ninee didn´t seem to bother with that. The corners of Rey´s mouth twitched, as the whole scene seemed hilarious to her. She felt Ben´s annoyance and embarrassment rising through their bond and chuckled as she noticed the light blush on Ben´s cheeks.

“Come to me instead, I´ll pat you since Ben here is too shy,” she said and with its dome shaped head crouching down,  the black droid powered off as a sign of protest.

“I see, like master like droid,” Rey said and playfully poked Ben with her elbow.

“I am not in the mood for games,” he retorted and pushed her hand aside.

“What a surprise.” Rey sighed and the desire to tease him even more faded. After shooting a few glances at Ben, she felt something was bothering him – more than usual. Something was definitely going on.

“I need to leave Coruscant tonight,” he confessed and finally locked his eyes with hers.

“Why?” Rey was confused. Their coronation was scheduled soon, together with the big party they were throwing for Snoke´s sacrifice, or as she put it, a ceremonial to thank the Force for his death.

“I can´t tell you that, at least not right now.” As he finished the sentence, the tension between the two rose with every second, until the Emperor decided to speak again.

 “I´ve summoned the Knights of Ren. They shall obey you as their master, but you need to promise me that you will let them accompany you.” He hoped she would trust him and not dig much deeper into this, and more so he begged the Force that she would accept the Knights of Ren as her personal guards.

“I think I can handle myself,” Rey replied, offended that Ben didn´t trust her with something she has been doing since she could remember. She handled the thugs and low-lives at Jakku, what would make Coruscant any different?

“I need to have someone look out for you, to keep you safe when I won´t be able to do so. Do you trust me?” Ben asked, piercing her with his gaze. He was looking for an answer in her eyes, but wasn´t successful at all.

Rey pressed her lips together and looked down to the floor. Did she? A few days ago she would laugh at herself, at even considering trusting him. But now, after all that´s happened…

Ben noticed as she broke off the eye contact. He should have known – of course she did not trust him, how could he be so foolish to think that she ever might.

“I do trust you, Ben.” Rey´s whisper put a stop to all of his angry thoughts. Her palm grasped his and he squeezed her hand firmly in return. He did not voice his thoughts, but hoped she knew that he trusted her as well.

“But you´re the only one I trust. I am not sure I can trust the knights,” Rey said and remembered the scary vision she had back at Maz´s castle at Takodana. Something about them didn´t feel right.

 

After more moments of quiet, this time with less suspense filling the room, Rey spoke again.

“Are you taking any of them with you?”

“No. I am going alone,” Ben replied firmly. The things he had to do had to be done discreetly, without any witnesses and evidence left behind. The less people knew about it the better. He wished he could have let Rey know about his plans, but that would put her in a dangerous situation and bring unnecessary risks. If he could avoid it, he would, even with the cost of losing her trust. He´d much rather have her angry at him, but alive.

“Then why do I have to have them watching me? You think you´re better than me?  If you don´t need them, neither do I,” Rey scoffed and stood up, breaking the contact with Ben and stormed out of the room towards the balcony.

“Why do you have to make this so difficult, scavenger,” he muttered and clenched his fists. He needed to channel his anger, use it for something  - destroy something. Unfortunately, this room didn´t have anything he could demolish so he had to settle down with kicking the still powered off BB-9E.

“Sorry, my friend,” he then apologized, sighing. His droid wasn´t the only one he should be apologizing to. Looking at the balcony he saw Rey pressed against the column, facing the view of never-resting city. With her arms crossed she studied the many vehicles rushing in the traffic of the air-lanes.

“Rey, I –“

“Not now Ben. I need to think. Goodnight,” she said and turned away from him, sinking into her own thoughts.

 

**Author's note: No, I am not dead! It's just that real life happened and I've been busy. I am not abandoning this fic, don't worry :) Yes, this is shorter than the other chapters but it felt good to stop it here (kinda cruel tho, hehe), but don't worry another update should be up soon.**

**I have not proof-read this much closely because I was so excited to post it, so if anything doesn't make sense or if it's just rubbish let me know :D**

**MERRY SITHMAS LOVELIES AND REMEMBER, IN LESS THAN 365 DAYS WE'LL GET TO SEE OUR BABIES AGAIN *_***

**Feedback is always appreciated, you guys keep me going! Ily**

 

**_Naty_ **


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